New monument honors Ohio State tradition of Script Ohio

Chris Booker
Ohio State Newsbooker.9@osu.edu
Script Ohio. It’s one of the most iconic traditions in college athletics. Now a massive, granite statue to honor that tradition has been unveiled at The Ohio State University.

The 20,000-pound monument rests on the edge of Buckeye Grove, south of Ohio Stadium. Its location is adjacent to the fields where the marching band practices.

“There’s nothing that highlights the tradition of Script Ohio outside of that game day experience or the band,” said Austin Cool, a biophysics graduate research assistant. “So we wanted to make sure everybody on campus was able to be a part of the great tradition that is Script Ohio.”

Cool has been working on the project as a member of Ohio Staters, Inc. since he was an undergraduate student. Ohio Staters is a student, faculty and staff service organization that promotes the welfare and traditions of Ohio State.
The statue honors Script Ohio
Cool, who worked on the project with Madalynn Conkle, an English literature and economics major, said he was inspired to give fellow Buckeyes a chance to dot the ‘i’ on Script Ohio. The statue stands 8 feet tall and 14 feet wide and is very deliberately missing a dot where the ‘i’ should rest.

“We wanted to invite everybody to be a part of that tradition and not just remember its amazing effect of bringing the entire Ohio State crew together. So we removed the dot of the ‘i’ off of the sculpture and are inviting everybody to be able dot the ‘i’ on their own,” Cool said.

It’s likely the new statue will become a favored location for selfies. Cool said he already snapped a picture of himself behind Script Ohio. Funding for the sculpture came from the sale of stadium seat cushions.

Ohio Staters were assisted by the university’s Office of Facilities Operations and Development. Project manager Karin Murillo-Kirlangitis helped guide the project from design to construction and worked with Ohio Staters and Columbus Art Memorial to build the monument.